Hello

Keith from the Northwest of the UK.
 

I’m looking to use various diameters of carbon fibre rod in HIFIEquipment supports.

Can you thread carbon fibre rod!.

Hi Keith,

Welcome to the forum!

Whilst it would be possible to thread carbon fibre rod it really isn't a good idea. The reason is because the strength in comosites comes from the continuity of the fibre reinforcment. As soon as the continuity is broken then the strength is highly compromised too. In the case of a pulltrusion all of the carbon fibres run lengthways down the tube. If you then attempted to thread (or indeed tap) the rod you effectively cut the fibres through leaving you with only the shear strength of the resin matrix (the epoxy resin) lending any strength to the thread.

Instead, what you would normally want to do is bond a more suitable material onto the end of the rod (like a metal ferrule) which can be threaded or tapped. When bonding metal fittings to carbon tube we would suggest an epoxy adhesive (like Araldite).

Cheers, Matt

Matt Statham
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Sales